idrac7 Version 1.30.30 With Lifecycle Controller 2 Version 1.1 Quick Start Guide
Notes, Cautions, and Warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. 2012 Dell Inc. Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the Dell logo, Dell Boomi, Dell Precision, OptiPlex, Latitude, PowerEdge, PowerVault, PowerConnect, OpenManage, EqualLogic, Compellent, KACE, FlexAddress, Force10 and Vostro are trademarks of Dell Inc. Intel, Pentium, Xeon, Core and Celeron are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. AMD is a registered trademark and AMD Opteron, AMD Phenom and AMD Sempron are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Server, Internet Explorer, MS-DOS, Windows Vista and Active Directory are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Red Hat and Red Hat Enterprise Linux are registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Novell and SUSE are registered trademarks of Novell Inc. in the United States and other countries. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Citrix, Xen, XenServer and XenMotion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. VMware, Virtual SMP, vmotion, vcenter and vsphere are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States or other countries. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. 2012-12 Rev. A00
Overview This Quick Start Guide provides the basic steps to set up and use the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 7 (idrac7) version 1.30.30 with Lifecycle Controller 2 version 1.1. For links to detailed information on all available features, see Additional Information. The following terms are used in this document: Managed System - The PowerEdge server containing the idrac7. Management Station - A workstation used to manage the idrac7 remotely through a Web browser. Configuring Initial idrac7 Network Settings You must configure the initial network settings based on your network infrastructure to enable communication with the idrac7 from your management station. 1. Turn on or reboot the managed system. 2. During Power-On Self-Test (POST), press <F2> when F2 = System Setup is displayed in the upper right corner of the screen as shown in the following figure. Figure 1. Selecting F2 to Enter System Setup 3. On the System Setup Main Menu page, click idrac Settings, and then click Network. The idrac Settings.Network page is displayed. 3
Figure 2. Network Settings 4. Specify the following settings: Network Settings: * Enable NIC Set this to Enabled. * NIC Selection (rack and tower servers only) Select the Dedicated (idrac7 Enterprise only) option if it is available. Otherwise, select one of the listed LOMs to be used for the idrac traffic (the selected LOM is shared with the operating system). Make sure a network cable is connected to the appropriate port. NOTE: The Dedicated (idrac7 Enterprise only) option is available only on rack or tower systems with idrac7 Enterprise license. 4
Figure 3. Common Settings and IPv4 Settings Common Settings (Optional): * Register DRAC on DNS Select Enabled for the idrac7 to automatically register itself with the DNS server, if the DNS server is configured to allow dynamic updates. NOTE: If this field is grayed-out, then to edit the field, either the Enabled DHCP option under IPv4 Settings or the Enable Auto-configuration option under IPv6 Settings must be enabled. * DNS DRAC Name The default name is idrac-<dell Service Tag #>. Use the default name or specify a unique name for the idrac. * Auto Config Domain Name Set this to Enabled if you are using a DCHP server that is configured to provide the domain name. * Static DNS Domain Name Specify the domain name, for example test.lab, if Auto Config Domain Name is set to Disabled. IPv4 Settings: NOTE: You can also use the IPv6 Settings section instead of IPv4. See the idrac7 User's Guide available at dell.com/support/manuals for the IPv6 configuration. * Enable IPv4 Set this to Enabled. * Enable DHCP Select Enabled if you are using a DHCP server to assign the IP address, gateway, and subnet mask. Else, select Disabled and enter the values for IP Address, Gateway, and Subnet Mask. * Use DHCP to obtain DNS server addresses Set this to Enabled if you are using a DHCP server that is configured to provide DNS server addresses. Else, select Disabled and enter the IP addresses for the Static Preferred DNS Server and optionally the Static Alternate DNS Server. 5. Click Back, Finish, and then click Yes when prompted to save changes. The network settings are configured. 6. Exit and allow the server to reboot. 5
NOTE: If you have enabled DHCP and are not connecting to idrac7 using the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the idrac, you can obtain the idrac's DHCP address from: The front LCD panel on systems that have them. Go back to F2 = System Setup, click idrac Settings and then click System Summary. Under the Current IPv4 Settings section, view the Current IP Address value. Figure 4. Viewing idrac IP Address Logging in to idrac7 Web Interface After configuring the basic idrac7 network settings during POST, you can remotely access the idrac7 using a supported Web browser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, or Safari. For the list of supported browser versions, and management station operating system versions, see the idrac7 readme file. The readme file is posted along with the idrac7 User's Guide at dell.com/support/manuals. To log in to the idrac7 Web interface: 1. On the management station, open the Web browser and connect to the idrac7 using: https://<ip address or FQDN of idrac> For example: https://192.168.0.120 https://idrac-cdvb7r1.test.lab A certificate warning page is displayed. Continue to the idrac7 Web page by following the options displayed in the page. NOTE: For detailed information on browser settings or using certificates with the idrac7, see the idrac7 User's Guide available at dell.com/support/manuals. 6
The Login page is displayed. Figure 5. idrac7 Login Page 2. Log in with the default credentials: Username: root, Password: calvin. NOTE: Both Username and Password is case-sensitive. The Default Password Warning page is displayed. 7
Figure 6. Default Password Warning Page 3. It is recommended that you change the default password for the user root. Enter the new password in the New Password and Confirm Password fields, and click Continue. Click the icon for information about password length and supported characters. The new password is configured and you are logged in to idrac7. Checking License Level or Upgrading License The system license level appears on the Login page and at the top of all the idrac7 pages in the Web interface as shown in the following example. 8
Figure 7. Checking License Level The idrac7 Enterprise license level supports all the idrac7 with Lifecycle Controller features. If the system shows the license level as Basic Management or Express, certain features are not available. For information on the list of licensable features based on the license level, see the idrac7 User's Guide available at dell.com/support/manuals. You can upgrade the license level from Basic Management to Express, Basic Management to Enterprise, or from Express to Enterprise. If you purchased a license with the server, you can retrieve it. To do this, go to Overview Server Licenses and click the License Self-Service Portal link. Otherwise, contact your Dell sales representative to purchase an upgrade license. The license is sent to you as an XML file. To install a license: 1. Store the purchased license file at a location accessible from the management station. 2. In the idrac7 Web interface, go to Overview Server Licenses. 3. Under License Options, from the Select drop-down menu, select Import. 4. Click Browse, select the license file, and click Apply. A message indicating the license was successfully imported is displayed. 5. Click OK to close the message. 6. Log out and log in to idrac7 Web interface. The new license level is displayed at the top of the Web interface pages. Managing User Accounts You can setup user accounts with specific privileges (role-based authority) to manage your system using the idrac7 and maintain system security. As an administrator, you can setup user accounts to allow other users to access idrac7. idrac7 supports role-based access to users with a set of associated privileges. The role defines the maximum privileges available. Changing Root User's Name For additional security, it is recommended that you change the default administrative user name from root to another name. 1. In the idrac7 Web interface, go to Overview idrac Settings User Authentication Local Users. The Users page is displayed. 2. In the User ID column, click User ID 2. 9
3. On the User Main Menu: User ID 2 page, click Next. 4. Change the User Name from root to another name. 5. If you did not change the password after logging into idrac7, you can change it by selecting the Change Password option and entering the new password in the New Password and Confirm New Password fields. 6. Since this is the only administrator account at this time, do not change the idrac User Privileges. 7. Click Apply to save the changes. Creating a New User To create a new user: 1. In the idrac7 Web interface, go to Overview idrac Settings User Authentication Local Users. The Users page is displayed. 2. In the User ID column, click on an available User ID. For example, User ID 3. 3. On the User Main Menu: User ID 3 page, click Next. 4. On the User Configuration page, select the Enable User option. 5. In the User Name field, enter a user name. 6. In the New Password and Confirm New Password fields, enter a password. For information on the password length and characters, click the icon 7. In the idrac User Privileges section, select a Role to assign to the user. There are four pre-configured roles: Administrator, Operator, Read Only, and None. You can customize the privileges by selecting the individual privileges. The role automatically changes to Operator (if the selected privileges do not match a pre-configured role). Figure 8. Assigning User Privileges 8. Click Apply to save the changes. 10
Updating idrac7 and Lifecycle Controller Firmware NOTE: This section covers remote update, which uses the Update Package for Microsoft Windows (32-bit) regardless of the operating systems installed on your managed system or management station. Before updating the idrac7 and Lifecycle Controller firmware 1. Check the currently installed firmware versions. To do this, go to Overview Server Properties Summary. The System Summary page is displayed. Under the Server Information section, check the Firmware Version and Lifecycle Controller Firmware version information. Figure 9. Server Information on idrac7 Home Page 2. Download the required firmware. To do this, see Downloading Firmware section. 3. From the management station, log in to the idrac Web interface and go to Overview idrac Settings Update and Rollback. 4. Click Choose File, browse and select the idrac Firmware Update Package for Microsoft Windows, and then click Upload. 5. After the upload is complete, the Update Details section displays the firmware file uploaded to idrac. 6. If you have downloaded Lifecycle Controller firmware, repeat steps 3 and 4. NOTE: You can upload one or both packages to idrac in any order. 7. After the files are uploaded, select the box(es) next to the file name(s) and click Install. 11
Figure 10. Firmware Update The message indicating Updating Job Queue is displayed. Click OK to close. The update takes about five minutes. If the idrac firmware is being updated, the idrac reboots and connectivity to idrac7 is lost temporarily. 8. Reconnect to the idrac7 Web interface and go to Overview Server Job Queue. 9. Expand the icon next to each job to confirm that the firmware update jobs were completed successfully. Figure 11. Job Queue Page Downloading Firmware To download the firmware: 1. Go to http://support.dell.com. 2. If prompted, select Start Here under Small Businesses or Enterprise IT. 12
3. Enter the Service Tag of the managed system and click Submit, or use one of the choose options to locate your system model. 4. Click Drivers and Downloads. 5. On the Drivers and Downloads page, expand Enterprise Systems Management (ESM ) and locate the idrac7 Firmware. If a newer version is available, click Download File. 6. In the window that opens, make sure that the Update Package for Microsoft Windows (32 bit) is selected. It is recommended that you also select the idrac7 readme file. Click Continue. 7. Save the idrac firmware file to a location accessible from your management station. 8. Return to the Drivers and Downloads page, expand Lifecycle Controller and repeat the steps for the Lifecycle Controller application firmware. If a newer version is available, make sure to download the Update Package for Microsoft Windows (32 bit). Using Virtual Console You can use the Virtual Console to manage a remote system using the keyboard, video, and mouse on your management station to control the corresponding devices on a managed system. NOTE: The Virtual Console feature is available on Monolithic (Rack or Tower) systems with Enterprise Licenses or Modular (Blade) systems with Express or Enterprise Licenses only. To upgrade your license, see Checking License Level or Upgrading the License. To launch the Virtual Console from the idrac7 Web interface: 1. Go to Overview Server Properties Summary and under Virtual Console Preview section, click Launch. NOTE: If you are using Internet Explorer, you may be prompted to install an ActiveX control. Other browsers require Java. If you prefer to use Java with Internet Explorer, go to Overview Server Console, change the Plug-in Type from Native to Java, and then click Apply. When launching Virtual Console, browsers such as Firefox and Chrome may ask for the program to use. Choose Java Web Start Launcher and click OK. 2. If a certificate warning message is displayed, click Run. Acknowledge any other certificate warnings that may be displayed. See the idrac7 User's Guide for more information on certificates. The Virtual Console opens and the managed system's console appears regardless of the state or presence of the operating system. Figure 12. Virtual Console - Independent of Operating System State Use the Macros menu at the top of the Virtual Console for the <Ctrl> + <Alt> + <Del> key combination. For more information, see the idrac7 User's Guide. 13
Virtual Console - Using Virtual Media Menu The devices located on the management station such as CD/DVD drives, USB flash drives, folders, and.iso images can be mounted as virtual media for use by the managed system. The following example uses a USB flash drive: 1. Connect the USB flash drive to the management station. 2. Launch the Virtual Console. 3. At the top of the Virtual Console Viewer window, select Virtual Media Launch Virtual Media. 4. If a certificate warning is displayed, click Run. For more information on certificates, see the idrac7 User's Guide available at dell.com/support/manuals. The Virtual Media Client View window is displayed that provides a list of devices available for mapping. 5. In the Mapped column, select the box next to the drive letter (Windows management stations), or /dev name (Linux management stations) assigned to the USB flash drive on the management station as shown The USB Flash Drive is now mapped and it can be accessed from the operating system of the managed system. NOTE: On Windows-based managed systems, the drive is auto-mounted and assigned the next available drive letter. On Linux-based managed systems, the device is auto-mounted if the system is in run level 5. Figure 13. Virtual Media Mapped to Windows Management Station Drive M: 14
Figure 14. Virtual Media Mapped to Linux Management Station /dev/sdb If the flash drive is bootable, the managed system can be booted from the flash drive. An example is provided in Virtual Console - Using Next Boot Menu section. 6. To end the session, click Exit, and then click Yes when prompted. Virtual Console - Using Power Menu You can use the Power menu available in the Virtual Console Viewer to perform power operations on the managed system. To do this: 1. Launch the Virtual Console. 2. At the top of the Virtual Console Viewer, click Power and select the required option: Power On System Turns on the managed system (the equivalent of pressing the physical power switch when the server power is off). This option is disabled if the system is already turned on. Power Off System Turns off the managed system. CAUTION: A running operating system does not shutdown gracefully. Graceful Shutdown Shuts down the operating system and turns off the managed system. Graceful shutdown requires an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI)-aware operating system, which allows system directed power management. Make sure that the shutdown option is configured for the operating system before you perform a graceful shutdown using this option. If you use this option without configuring it on the operating system, it reboots the managed system instead of performing a shutdown operation. Reset System (warm boot) Reboots the system without turning it off. CAUTION: A running operating system does not shutdown gracefully. Power Cycle System (cold boot) Turns off and then reboots the system. CAUTION: A running operating system does not shutdown gracefully. 3. When prompted to confirm the action, click OK. The managed system performs the selected power operation. 15
Figure 15. Virtual Console Power Menu Using Virtual Console Next Boot Menu You can use the Next Boot menu available in the Virtual Console Viewer to select the device to boot from as the managed system is being viewed. This feature sets a one-time boot option that overrides the BIOS boot order on the managed system. In addition to the standard local and virtual boot devices, this menu includes options to launch BIOS Setup or the Lifecycle Controller interface on the next boot. For example, consider a bootable USB flash drive: 1. Launch the Virtual Console from the management station. 2. Insert a bootable USB flash drive in the management station and map the drive using Virtual Media. 3. Select Next Boot Virtual Floppy (the USB flash drive emulates a floppy drive in BIOS in this case) 16
Figure 16. Virtual Console Next Boot Menu 4. Click OK when prompted to confirm the selection. 5. Reboot the managed system using the Power menu. The managed system boots to the USB flash drive installed in the management station. 6. When complete, click Exit, and then click Yes in the Virtual Media Viewer window and close this window. Viewing Logs idrac7 provides the System Event Log (SEL) and the Lifecycle log. The SEL contains only the system events. The Lifecycle Log contains events related to system, storage devices, network devices, firmware updates, configuration changes, license messages, and so on. System Event Log To view the System Event Log (SEL), go to Overview Server Logs Logs. The System Event Log page displays a severity indicator, a time stamp, and a description for each event logged. The log can be sorted by clicking the column headings. If you have sufficient privileges, Clear Log is available at the bottom of the page that allows you to clear the SEL. Lifecycle Log The Lifecycle Log provides the history of changes related to the components installed on a managed system. To view the Lifecycle log, go to Overview Server Logs Lifecycle Logs. The Lifecycle Log page is displayed. 17
Figure 17. Lifecycle Log Page You can use the Log Filter section at the top of the page to filter and search for events based on the selected criteria. The Date and Time of each event is shown with the idrac's timestamp followed by the time zone offset of the idrac. Events are listed with the most recent on top. Click the recommended action if applicable. for an event to view a detailed description and Under Log Results section, click Export to export the Lifecycle Log in XML format to a location of your choice. NOTE: The events in the exported log are sorted with the oldest events on top. For detailed information about each message ID, see the Event Message Reference Guide Version 2.0: Click here to view the XML files. Click here to view the PDF file. Setting idrac7 Time Zone and NTP The idrac sets its time from the system BIOS unless a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server is used. To view the current idrac time, go to Overview idrac Settings Properties Summary and view the RAC Time. To set the time zone, go to Overview idrac Settings Properties Settings. From the Time Zone drop-down menu, select the required time zone and click Apply. NOTE: Changing the time zone does not change the idrac time unless an NTP server is used. Daylight savings time is applied automatically, if a time zone that supports daylight savings time is selected. To configure NTP, select Enable Network Time Protocol (NTP), enter up to three NTP server addresses, and click Apply. 18
Figure 18. Time Zone and NTP Page Summary Congratulations, you have successfully completed the basic set up and used some of the popular features for the idrac7 with Lifecycle Controller technology. As you continue to explore the options and additional settings, see Additional Information section for more information Resetting idrac7 to Default Settings If required, the idrac7 can be reset to its default factory settings: 1. Turn on or reboot the managed system. 2. During Power-On Self-Test (POST), press <F2> when F2 = System Setup appears in the upper right corner of the screen. 3. On the System Setup Main Menu, click idrac Settings Reset idrac Configurations to Defaults. 19
Figure 19. Reset idrac to Defaults Page 4. Click Yes. If you are working remotely, connectivity is lost while the idrac resets. Reset to defaults takes approximately five minutes. 5. To re-establish network connectivity to the idrac, you must reconfigure the network settings as mentioned in Configuring Initial idrac7 Network Settings section. Additional Information The following User's Guides are available at dell.com/support/manuals: idrac7 User's Guide Lifecycle Controller User's Guide The following whitepapers are available at delltechcenter.com: idrac7 Pages and White Papers: Dell 12th Generation Power Edge Server Resources Agent-free Inventory and Monitoring for Storage and Network Devices in Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Servers Integrating idrac 7 with Microsoft Active Directory idrac7 Networking and Improved Remote Access Performance OS-to-BMC Pass-through: A New Chapter in System Manageability LCD Info Screen and LED Alert Panel on PowerEdge 12th Generation Servers Security New Security Features in Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 7 idrac7 Licensing: 20
Dell idrac7 Licensing Whitepaper - Differences between idrac6 and idrac7 Dell OpenManage License Manager (DLM) vflash: Dell vflash: An Overview Scripting vflash Partition Management Dell s vflash SD Flash Media Card Better Endurance and Performance via Over-Provisioning 21